TITLE: Can observational research supported by digital agronomy accelerate scientific progress in agriculture?
SPEAKER: Dr. Louis Longchamps, Assistant Professor, Soil and Crop Sciences Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University

LOCATION: Zoom (link available on request, please contact Dr. Francois Tardif )
TIME: 3:00 to 4:00 PM
DATE: Thursday, April 1st, 2021

Summary: Agricultural science has made tremendous improvements and breakthroughs over the last century as evidenced by improvement in input use efficiency over the years. The speed of scientific improvement is impressive; however, it is outpaced by the speed of environmental degradation. While experimental research has enabled most scientific advances in agriculture, observational research has seldom been used else than for generating hypothesis. This seminar will discuss how digital agronomy can change the current paradigm on agricultural science by harnessing the potential of observational research for rapid development of science-based solutions.

Biography: Louis Longchamps earned his PhD at Laval University where his thesis research focused on the spatial structure of weed populations in corn fields and measure of the potential for site-specific weed management, followed by postdoctoral work in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University.

Longchamp's work as a research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Quebec, has included development of a yield sensor for baby greens, optimization of nitrogen management using remote sensing, and reduction in nitrous oxide emissions using variable rate nitrogen management in switchgrass. As a new assistant professor in digital agronomy at Cornell University, he wants to explore the potential of observational research and on-farm experimentation to accelerate scientific development in agriculture maintaining productivity while reducing the negative impacts of agriculture on the environment.